Printed portraits of H. Skovoroda of the late 18th - 19th centuries: historical and cultural analysis

Abstract

The goal of the research is to carry out the first historical and cultural characteristic for all currently known portraits of Hryhorii Skovoroda, printed in the late 18th - 19th centuries. The methodology is based on the principle of historicism in combination with the comparative method. This made it possible to detect common and distinctive features in the portraits of the philosopher, created over the late 18th - 19th centuries, as well as to reveal new aspects of the history of their publication. Scientific novelty. The first comprehensive analysis of all currently known printed portraits of Hryhorii Skovoroda of the 19th century was carried out, the cultural and historical contexts of their creation was described; the attribution of the first portraits was clarified in chronological order. Conclusions. Currently, nine portraits of Hryhorii Skovoroda are known, printed during the end of the 18th and 19th centuries in separate letters and as illustrations for scientific and popular publications. We have information about the authors of two of them. The first one is Moscow master Petr Meshcheryakov. He engraved adotted portrait at the beginning of the 19th century. In the first half of the 19th century, during the lifetime of people who personally knew Hryhorii Skovoroda, this work was published in two editions of separate letters (with and without Mykhailo Kovalinskyi’s poem), printed in a book and two magazines. The engraving from the first edition was pasted into the manuscript of Mykhailo Kovalinskyi’s memoirs. The autograph is kept in the Department of Manuscript Fonds and Textology of the T.G. Shevchenko Institute of Literature of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine. Due to the lack of criticism from modern researchers, it is reasonable to assume this artwork accurately portrays the features of Hryhorii Skovoroda. The other oldest portrait of the philosopher was made in engraved technique with the use of a cutter, but the author of this work could not be determined. At first, this image was little known, its copy (admittedly unsuccessful) was published only in the "Illustration" magazine in 1847. The features of Skovoroda from the original and later copies differ in details; the text of the epitaph poem is two lines shorter. Two copies of the oldest engravings and a syncretic portrait were printed in 1894. The portrait was created by the St. Petersburg artist Vasily Mate, at the request and for the publication of Dmitry Bagaley. All subsequent images of the philosopher published in the 19th century are analogues of the ancient images of Hryhorii Skovoroda, painted in oil. However, the original image, which was the base for the first engravings, has not been found.

Keywords

• hryhorii skovoroda, portraits, 19th century, engraving, printed images.